![]() In addition to pork, nikuman often have sliced bamboo shoots and mushroom, and in Mini Stop’s bun everything is finely diced for a uniform texture. It turns out that the Mini Stop nikuman is a very orthodox take on the pork bun. Sure, we could have waited until we were back at the office, but nikuman are at their most delicious fresh from the steamer, before they’ve had time to get cold or soggy, and we wanted to give each store a fair chance at winning the pork bun crown. Japanese convenience stores keep their buns in a steamer case near the register, so we asked the clerk for one, and as soon as we had it we headed outside to eat it right then and there. Mini Stop’s steamed pork bun is priced at 140 yen (US$1.22), which has become the current going rate for convenience store pork buns. We decided to round out the test by including Mini Stop, a second-tier convenience store that nonetheless occasionally produces some wonderous snacks (like the bento boxed lunch inside a rice ball and the Gyoza Dog), and it was Mini Stop that was our first stop on this taste test odyssey. Obviously, nikuman from the big three of the combini world, 7-Eleven, Family Mart, and Lawson, were must-eats. So to maximize our dining pleasure, we decided to find out which convenience store chain has the best pork buns, or nikuman, as they’re called in Japanese. Still, we have to admit that as the temperatures go down, our cravings for piping-hot steamed buns goes up, so we plan to eat a whole bunch of them over the next few months. That didn’t turn out to be the case at all, and nowadays convenience stores sell steamed buns all year round. Once upon a time, Japanese convenience stores only sold steamed buns in the fall and winter, under the assumption that because they’re served hot, people wouldn’t want to eat them during the warmer parts of the year. Download it via the App Store for iOS or Google Play for Android.We visit Japan’s big three combini, plus one dark horse contender, on our search for nikuman bliss. The buns look slightly nicer on the Cafe Asia box than they do in real life if we are going to find a small flaw in our winner, but overall, Costco's Cafe Asia buns are your best bet for bao buns this Chinese New Year.ĭownload the SurreyLive app for a better reader experience and to get news from the areas you care most about. This was a comparison of taste, not of price, but when the tastes appear to be so similar, we can let the Cafe Asia option just about take the lead in the end due to its value (at the time of shopping, there was even £2 off the £7.69 retail price, making them as cheap as 32p each). They are the same size, same flavour and what appears to be the same ingredients list – from the 17% duck breast down to intricacies such as the orange peel – despite a different branding and more decorative microwave bags in the case of the Cafe Asia buns. Our winning two entries are very close indeed. The Cafe Asia buns from Costco (pictured), the same design, size and filling as the Itsu duck buns (Image: Alec Evans) Itsu spicy veg buns (Asda, £2.75 for 6 – 46p per bun) In brief, there's no doubting M&S's creativity, but these buns aren't going to go down in supermarket folklore like M&S's Percy the Pig or Colin the Caterpillar products. It's also not the only creative bao bun I've seen from M&S recently – in October, they were selling Halloween 'boo-bao buns' – sweet and sour-filled bao buns with an almost Jack Skellington-like skeleton face on each one. They're also the worst value for money at £2.75 for 2, although prices may admittedly be drawn up by these being the only non-frozen bun tasted today, as well as being larger than others.Ī case for the defence, though – I couldn't find own-brand bao buns in any other supermarket (although I understand Morrisons have been known to sell them as well), so M&S are at least committed to the bao bun cause. Their base is a bit too thick and stodgy, while they are also not particularly strongly flavoured or deeply filled inside. Unfortunately, if we're going on what is best to eat rather than Insta-friendliness, these don't score quite as highly. ![]() Filled with mushroom and hoisin sauce, and vegan-friendly, they are decorated with black panda eyes, nose and ears. If we were going by appearance, this limited edition M&S entry would be the hands down winner. While slightly flawed, the M&S buns were the most attractive looking (Image: Alec Evans) ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |